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A POPular Teacher Appreciation Idea

I love being a cheerleader for the amazing teachers in my school, my children's school and well...the whole darn world really! Teachers often exist in a thankless atmosphere and that's not okay with me. Not long ago I posted some ideas for gift baskets for teachers that you might want to take a peek at. Today I'm going to show you how to make a unique gift for teachers and staff that will make them say "How did she DO that?"

We are going to create soda bottles that are stuffed with things that...well...just shouldn't fit in a soda bottle! I created these gifts for some teacher leaders that came to Leadership Symposium for the Missouri State Teacher's Association. They were quite a hit!

First, you'll need a clean, empty two liter bottle and lid, a sharpie and a good pair of scissors.

The secret to getting all of the goodies inside is to create a large flap. We'll cover it later so don't worry if it is a little crooked. Draw 3 sides of a square that measures about 4-5 inches wide. Don't cut the square all the way out. We are just creating a flap, so leave the fourth side untouched. Cut only three sides. The flap will curl up just a bit.

Next, stuff the bottle full of as many goodies as you can fit inside. Make sure that you use some things that would not fit in the bottle's regular opening. Here are a few ideas:

-sodas, juices, tea or sports drinks

-candy bars, snack cakes, little bags of chips

-gum, mints, hard candies

-lip balm, flashlights, magnets, lanyards, keychains

-bumper stickers, auto decals, school spirit items

-t-shirts (rolled up tight), socks, gift cards and gift certificates

-ink pens, Sharpies, sticky notes, fancy paper clips

Stuff the bottles pretty full so that your flap will lay back in its original position. In this set, I used some tissue paper in the bottom of each bottle to give them a little more volume and color. When you have filled it completely, secure the flap with a few pieces of tape.

Finally, using construction paper, scrapbook paper or wrapping paper cover the bottle at about the same size as the original label. Then, print out a colorful label. Add it on top of the other paper. It may not fit all the way around your bottle, but that's okay. Some of the bottom layer of paper should peek above and below the label so a little bit showing in back won't be a big deal.

My label said "SODA-lighted to watch you SHINE!" We were working with a Hollywood/movies theme so I decorated mine accordingly.

You might also like:
"SODA-lighted to Celebrate You!"
"SODA-lighted to be in Your Class!"
"SODA-lighted to work with a POP star like you!"
"For a POPular Teacher-Thanks for making every day SODAlightful!"

I added a bit of curly ribbon for a little more pop and put the lid back on. I loved the look on the recipients' faces as they tried to figure out the "trick".